"Mayor Branch, you are going to be very hard to replace," Councilwoman Annie Boensch said. "I'm very grateful for all of your advice and guidance. This council has been very fortunate to have you at the helm. I am eternally grateful for everything that you've done."

Branch said he felt honored to serve as both a city councilman and Saginaw's mayor.

"It has been a tremendous honor to have served with you and an even better one to serve as your mayor," Branch said.

On Wednesday, with his entire family in the audience, Branch restated his reasoning and said he hopes he served well as Saginaw's mayor.

"I still plan to do things to make Saginaw a better city, but for the time being a lot of those are going to be spending more time with my kids," Branch said. "I hope I have brought to this chair some of the dignity, integrity and passion it deserves."

The outgoing mayor said one of the greatest difficulties he has faced over the last eight years can be spelled out in dollars and cents.

"The toughest thing was dealing with what was really a never-ending onslaught of bad news financially," Branch said.

Though Saginaw's tax cap insulated the city somewhat from the collapse of the real estate market, he said it still impacted Saginaw's position.

"We were still left in a place where we had a long way to come back and where it's going to take a long time to come back," Branch said.

But the real financial pinch came from steadily-decreasing state revenue sharing funds over the last several years, he said.

"That's one of the things I've been very vocal about," Branch said.

The mayor said that, in his position, he has been exposed to much more of Saginaw than most and has concluded that there is much more good than bad.

"There are far, far more people in the city working for it than against it," he said.

Branch said, as a city councilman, he has gotten a chance to see just how strong the heart of Saginaw is, through the work of so many individuals and groups striving to leave a positive impact on the city.

Mayor Branch said Saginaw County Board of Commissioners Chairman Mike Hanley, former Saginaw Township Manager Ron Lee, Saginaw County Chamber of Commerce Executive Vice President Veronica Horn and former Saginaw Mayor Carol Cottrell all encouraged him to run for City Council at various times.

"Really for anything I've done on City Council, these four people deserve the credit or the blame," Branch said.

Branch also thanked Jimmy Greene, the city staff, his coworkers from his day job and his family for their support.

Saginaw voters will go to the polls Nov. 5 to elect four members to the City Council seats currently held by Branch, Browning, Larry Coulouris and Andre Wendt.

Browning and Coulouris are seeking reelection, part of a 19-person candidate field, the largest on record for a four-seat Saginaw City Council election.

The Saginaw City Council consists of nine at-large members. All run as nonpartisan candidates, and those who are elected take office on the Monday following the election. The oath of office will be taken by the winners Nov. 11, 2013.